A Typical Situation
There is a tight community of humans with 3% non-humans
ie. in the town there is one family of dwarves, and close to the solstice the arrival of an elf or two raises some interest. People are not sure but the rumor is that the local wood once held a strange thing.
Then the party arrives....
It has one Half Ogre Barbarian, a Grey Elf Wizard, a half rat thief, and a trio of half orcs... (or some such)
Inevitably the party expects to interact with the town as if they were either heroes or citizens - even looking for bargains because they are so well connected. The Party wants to be stealthy as they go building to building asking questions. They would like to stay somewhere secure, with people they can trust....
The necromancer wants directions to the cemetery and he wants to tell you why he will fit in....
Nobody expects to use illusions, after all they are only 'in town'.
What do you do in your game?
They are stopped at the gates by the Watch who want to know their business. If they don't have a reason for entry (ie are there to see somebody specific, or can pay a hefty bribe), or have a person of 'importance' with them, then they don't get in.
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Chase them out with pitch forks !!!
Actually, I guess it comes down to how isolated the town really is and wheter or not the folk are aware that other sentient races exist.
I'd be very tempted to have the local priest stir up trouble for the PC's and have some of the folk they talk to "punished" for complying with "the tainted folk". This might bring up all sorts of moral dilemmas for what the party should do, and may even lead them down the wrong path about what/who is the cause of local trouble in the area.
I think you sould definitely run it like a small country "We don't like strange folk in these parts" kind of deal at least once. Plus it lets you use a classic star wars quote "We don't serve their kind in here".
Cheers
They are stopped at the gates by the Watch who want to know their business. If they don't have a reason for entry (ie are there to see somebody specific, or can pay a hefty bribe), or have a person of 'importance' with them, then they don't get in.
Quite right! In a recent session, our DM had us camp outside of a medium-sized town after the Guard, led by the Council Head (a mage), deemed us "a bit too subversive and dangerous" to local concerns. Like the OP's example, we have a mixed group: 2 tieflings, a half-elf, a kobold and a human.
While camped outside the town, our campsite was robbed by some passing bandits, and also became the hiding place for the runaway daughter of one of the Council members, which caused all sorts of problems. As annoying as it was for our characters, it was quite a bit of fun for us as players.
In a small town like that in my campaign...
The Half-Ogre, Half-Orcs, and Half-Rat would probably be denied entry flat out (especially if the region were close to "Orc territory" or "Ogre territory").
The Elf would certainly raise suspicions. He might be allowed in if he had a good reason.
Asking for directions to the cemetery, if the Necromancer (presumably the Elf Wizard) made it past the gates, would get a grudging answer and some whispered conversations depending on where he asked.
Going from building to building unobtrusively would be out of the question. As my players are comic book fans, I would explain it to them as "Right, nobody notices the Incredible Hulk and a pack of obvious X-men rejects going from door to door...".
All of thw above assumes that I had not explained to the players during character creation that such might be the case. I have had players decide to accept the social problems anyway. Mothers used to pull their children indoors when the Lizardfolk Ranger walked the streets. He knew it was coming, and he just tried to make people see Lizardfolk in a new light by being helpful, courteous, and kind when he had the opportunity.
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Clearly there is a disconnect between player expectations and GM expectations here.
If your players want to play seriously races maybe you should seriously consider altering the racial mix of the whole world so they don't stand out as much. Alternately explain to the players that they are playing freaks and they will be treated as such. Either solution works, just come to an agreement.
Also, keep in mind that a small village like that is likely to fear ANY group of well armed strangers.
As for the necromancer, and to a lesser extent the summoner, there will be a lot of fear and in some locations necromancers will be outright hunted. Again, set a level of expectation with the player. Maybe he should hide his ability while in towns? Raiding graveyards is exactly the sort of thing with makes many consider necromancy evil. Summoners might likewise need to dismiss their eidolons and use summon eidolon to call them in a pinch. I could see if the player made a point of making their eidolon particularly cute or 'good' looking and if it acted that way it might be well received but certainly not at first.
Reminds me of the "PC Drow" syndrome. Players who want to be an odd or outright well-known to be evil race and not have any social repercussions.
everybody assumes that a freakshow is negative, I think you should define that by their charisma.
Example: in Real life there comes a human-sized talking lizard, he is likely to end up on Larry King, and not killed by the mob or thrown out of the country. Of course we are more "modern", but still, peaceful intelligent "things" might become very popular, and everybody wants to hear their story.
But one going below the radar will be completly impossible, if any NPC tries to find out what the PC's have been up to, I would give them a hefty bonus. Andy everywhere they go, people wanna talk to them.
Of course if your party is very low on charisma, look like murderers and talk about raising the dead, people will drive them out (with pitchforks, for the hell of it).
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everybody assumes that a freakshow is negative, I think you should define that by their charisma.
Example: in Real life there comes a human-sized talking lizard, he is likely to end up on Larry King, and not killed by the mob or thrown out of the country. Of course we are more "modern", but still, peaceful intelligent "things" might become very popular, and everybody wants to hear their story.
Spoken by someone who clearly has no idea what racism is.
Think about typical small town USA, it's a normal day. Three jeeps pull into town filled with a bunch of rednecks in hunting clothes, all the trucks have gun racks, one or two of guys have a gun in hand as they get out of the trucks but not in an obviously threatening way. People might shake their heads but no one thinks too long about it.
Same town, maybe same day. A couple jeeps pull into town filled with a bunch of dark skinned men with turbans on their heads. The jeeps have gun racks, one or two of the men have a gun in hand as they get out of the trucks but not in an obviously threatening way. It doesn't matter how much of a smooth talker any of them are they are going to be treated as a deadly threat. Many 911 calls will be made and the sheriff will show up.
That is the sort of reaction a freak show will get in a typical Golarion small town (think Sandpoint)...
I don't think a freakshow is negative, but you have to change the game setting in order for anyone to treat a party like the OP described as anything other than the devil incarnate with guns.
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I use racism as an example but this would likely go much beyond that because there is a much more real connection between race and behavior in the game world.
A good example of a game setting where the freakshow would work better is Ebberron. Race relations are fairly normalized even with the classic 'monster' races like orcs and there are things like ogre mercenaries.
I use racism as an example but this would likely go much beyond that because there is a much more real connection between race and behavior in the game world.
A good example of a game setting where the freakshow would work better is Ebberron. Race relations are fairly normalized even with the classic 'monster' races like orcs and there are things like ogre mercenaries.
Yes, it's an issue of how cosmopolitan the world is. I get the impression from the OP that the answer to that is 'not very'.
I think the most positive reaction might well be for the guard to allow the elf in, but tell him that his entourage will have to camp outside the city. If he's very nice and they are well behaved, the guard might provide them with a small stockade for some safety, and allow them to buy from traders prepared to come out and meet them (exorbitant prices, though). That is the best outcome.
This is not a real situation, rather it is a thought I have when I see players wanting to play the only exception for a whole race (ie Drazzt) or a remarkably thoughtful civilized half-ogre.
Most of the small towns are formed in secure areas that are peaceful enough to not need a town wall. Town walls and guards are a big investment.
I was wondering how other DMs balance players wanting to be a very rare exception with players wanting to be stealthy or not wanting to attract attention.
It could also be fun for a local ‘outcast’ to try to hitch a ride with the group out of Bigotsville. Then when the general populace starts sharpening their pitchforks, the party has some warning and maybe even a little help getting away. They could also use him/her to get the information they need from the townsfolk. Or at least some guidance on how to not get lynched.
This is not a real situation, rather it is a thought I have when I see players wanting to play the only exception for a whole race (ie Drazzt) or a remarkably thoughtful civilized half-ogre.
Yes, that one bugs me because they often want the up-side of the race but not the down-side of poor social interaction. It's even worse when they have charisma as a dump-stat ...
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This is not a real situation, rather it is a thought I have when I see players wanting to play the only exception for a whole race (ie Drazzt) or a remarkably thoughtful civilized half-ogre.
Most of the small towns are formed in secure areas that are peaceful enough to not need a town wall. Town walls and guards are a big investment.
I was wondering how other DMs balance players wanting to be a very rare exception with players wanting to be stealthy or not wanting to attract attention.
If the PCs are treated as everyone else is then they are just humans with some weird racial traits. At some point you have to ask whether they are really playing another race or if it's just a kit of abilities.
If they truly want to play a half ogre then you should have NPCs react like he's a half ogre. If half ogres are common then they won't think much of it. If half ogres are rare then people won't know what to think and will likely treat him like an ogre. Think of Beast from the X-Men, he's treated as a freak, the few people that know him respect what he is but most people don't even think of him as human.
This is not a real situation, rather it is a thought I have when I see players wanting to play the only exception for a whole race (ie Drazzt) or a remarkably thoughtful civilized half-ogre.
Most of the small towns are formed in secure areas that are peaceful enough to not need a town wall. Town walls and guards are a big investment.
I was wondering how other DMs balance players wanting to be a very rare exception with players wanting to be stealthy or not wanting to attract attention.
If the PCs are treated as everyone else is then they are just humans with some weird racial traits. At some point you have to ask whether they are really playing another race or if it's just a kit of abilities.
If they truly want to play a half ogre then you should have NPCs react like he's a half ogre. If half ogres are common then they won't think much of it. If half ogres are rare then people won't know what to think and will likely treat him like an ogre. Think of Beast from the X-Men, he's treated as a freak, the few people that know him respect what he is but most people don't even think of him as human.
Uh uh... racism is a no no. You might offend someone out of game, after all.
Seriously though... racism is ok to RP out but sexism isn't? *shakes head*
Sorry, I'm still scratching my head about that stuff from the old sexism thread. Continue...
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This is not a real situation, rather it is a thought I have when I see players wanting to play the only exception for a whole race (ie Drazzt) or a remarkably thoughtful civilized half-ogre.
Most of the small towns are formed in secure areas that are peaceful enough to not need a town wall. Town walls and guards are a big investment.
I was wondering how other DMs balance players wanting to be a very rare exception with players wanting to be stealthy or not wanting to attract attention.
If the PCs are treated as everyone else is then they are just humans with some weird racial traits. At some point you have to ask whether they are really playing another race or if it's just a kit of abilities.
If they truly want to play a half ogre then you should have NPCs react like he's a half ogre. If half ogres are common then they won't think much of it. If half ogres are rare then people won't know what to think and will likely treat him like an ogre. Think of Beast from the X-Men, he's treated as a freak, the few people that know him respect what he is but most people don't even think of him as human.
Uh uh... racism is a no no. You might offend someone out of game, after all.
Seriously though... racism is ok to RP out but sexism isn't? *shakes head*
Sorry, I'm still scratching my head about that stuff from the old sexism thread. Continue...
That's not racism, that's specie-ism . Racism is when we have the same species.
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Specism ?
If someone wanted to play a human from Mwangi I would never suggest they be treated otherwise in game. The only reason I bring up racism is because it is the closest real world analogy to the game 'races' which are more like different species if you ask me.
Racial tension exists in Golarion. Elves don't trust anyone else to enter their home country, gnomes hide in holes because of raiders (Is it racist to hide from another race that is known to enslave your people?). Even in Mwangi the human colonists and natives have racial tensions of a more normal form. If a goblin walks into Sandpoint people are going to shoot it.
If you want to pull this sort of issue out of your game then feel free, I do think it's kind of strange to 99.5% human towns that don't get a little freaked out by something like a half ogre walking into town. Just change things so half breeds and other races are more common.
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Says a guy who clearly doesn't know what racism is.
Have you ever noticed that the iconic racist is almost always a "redneck" - someone who comes from a far corner of the US, is typically portrayed as backward and suspicious of nanny state big government? In reality, Appalachia was heavily involved in the Underground Railroad and has a rich cultural heritage quite at odds with racism. The really nasty racists are the Democrats and...
I didn't say the rednecks were racist. I said townspeople would accept rednecks with guns but would freak if they saw a group of arabs with guns.
I am a redneck. I don't see it as a derogatory term at all.
I used rednecks in my example because I know a lot of rednecks that have guns.
Maybe you should check your political indignation at the door.
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If they're high-level adventurers, their reputations might have come before them. In the game I'm running right now, the summoner's body is covered in dragonscales (to match his eidolon), the fighter is relatively famous, and the rogue is a dark elf (drow are rare, not evil in this world). So they get followed by a mob of children.
"Why do you have scales, Mister? Can we touch your ears? Why's your skin so dark? I saw you in the paper!"
No stealth for them.
Granted, this is a high charisma party. A low-charisma party of dwarves I ran game for once had a hard time of it. No one would sell to them or buy their gear, and they were confronted by the watch numerous times about petty crimes they did not commit.
If they're high-level adventurers, their reputations might have come before them. In the game I'm running right now, the summoner's body is covered in dragonscales (to match his eidolon), the fighter is relatively famous, and the rogue is a dark elf (drow are rare, not evil in this world). So they get followed by a mob of children.
That's a possibility - in fact the Ravenloft setting had a 'Outcast rating' for how well your minority would be responded to by the populace at large and is a sort of 'negative charisma modifier'. Some campaigns allocate a 'reputation' that is a positive modifier.
However, there are some people that will not be convinced - think of the racism parallel: some will just assume that the half-ogre champion that defeated the bugbear invaders is just suckering you ready for an ogre invasion instead. You might get into the town, but not everyone is friendly.
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If they're high-level adventurers, their reputations might have come before them. In the game I'm running right now, the summoner's body is covered in dragonscales (to match his eidolon), the fighter is relatively famous, and the rogue is a dark elf (drow are rare, not evil in this world). So they get followed by a mob of children.
"Why do you have scales, Mister? Can we touch your ears? Why's your skin so dark? I saw you in the paper!"
No stealth for them.
Granted, this is a high charisma party. A low-charisma party of dwarves I ran game for once had a hard time of it. No one would sell to them or buy their gear, and they were confronted by the watch numerous times about petty crimes they did not commit.
High level adventurers can avoid a lot of this stuff. They are rock stars, they are expected to be freaks.